Kittanning State Forest
Encyclopedia
Clear Creek State Forest (formerly Kittanning State Forest) is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #8. The main offices are located in Clarion
in Clarion County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States
. Until August 2007, it was named Kittanning State Forest.
The forest is located on a total of 13266 acres (5,368.6 ha) in three tracts: 9089 acres (3,678.2 ha) in northern Jefferson County
; 3165 acres (1,280.8 ha) in southern Venango County
; and 1012 acres (409.5 ha) in southern Forest County
. District #8 also includes Armstrong
, Beaver
, Butler
, Clarion
, Jefferson
, Lawrence
, and Mercer
Counties.
Clear Creek State Forest is managed under the "Multiple Use Management" system. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation of Natural Resources considers many different uses for the forest land and places top priority on the most important use for any given area. Clear Creek State Forest is currently open for recreational purposes such as hunting
, fishing
, hiking
and mountain biking
. Several timber, oil and gas companies use the natural resources of the forest. The Pennsylvania Game Commission
is responsible for wildlife management in Clear Creek State Forest.
became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and Iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. The clear cut
the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfire
s that prevented the formation of second growth forest
s.
Conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests. The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
. The Pennsylvania General Assembly
passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.
The first parcel of land that was to become Clear Creek State Forest was purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for $6,880. The original purchase of 3200 acres (1,295 ha) was purchased in 1919 at the end of the lumber era that swept throughout the mountains of Pennsylvania. The state continued to purchase land throughout the 20th century with the last acquisition taking place in 1980. Most of the land was acquired from large scale lumbering corporations. These lumber businesses stripped the old growth forest that once spread over most of Pennsylvania. They began lumbering on a large scale in 1883 when the first sawmill
s were constructed in the area along the many creeks that drained the Allegheny Plateau
. The lumbermen harvested the hemlock and white pine
trees on an almost exclusive basis. The logs of hemlock and pine were lashed together in rafts and floated down the Clarion River
and into the Allegheny River
to Pittsburgh
. The lumber companies also built three logging railroads in the area to get the lumber out of the mountains and on to the cities of Western Pennsylvania.
The lumbering operations left behind what has been described as a "barren wasteland" of stumps and dried treetops. The sparks cast off by passing steam trains set off massive forest fires. These fires slowed the development of the second growth forest
that now covers Clear Creek State Forest. The forests have largely regrown with the hemlock and white pine trees being replaced with thriving populations of various hardwood
trees.
of Ohio
is to the west
Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in Clarion County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, about 100 miles north-northeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. Merely 2,004...
in Clarion County
Clarion County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 41,765 people, 16,052 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile . There were 19,426 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Until August 2007, it was named Kittanning State Forest.
The forest is located on a total of 13266 acres (5,368.6 ha) in three tracts: 9089 acres (3,678.2 ha) in northern Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,200. It was established on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and named for then-President Thomas Jefferson. Its county seat is Brookville...
; 3165 acres (1,280.8 ha) in southern Venango County
Venango County, Pennsylvania
Venango County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,984. Its county seat is Franklin.-History:Venango County was created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties...
; and 1012 acres (409.5 ha) in southern Forest County
Forest County, Pennsylvania
Forest County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population is 7,716. Forest County is famous as a rural retreat. Nearly 75% of all dwellings in the county are second or vacation homes . Forest County does not have a single traffic light, the only county in the...
. District #8 also includes Armstrong
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,941. It is located northeast of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Armstrong County was added to the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003.The county seat is Kittanning...
, Beaver
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 181,412 people, 72,576 households, and 50,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 418 people per square mile . There were 77,765 housing units at an average density of 179 per square mile...
, Butler
Butler County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 174,083 people, 65,862 households, and 46,827 families residing in the county. The population density was 221 people per square mile . There were 69,868 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile...
, Clarion
Clarion County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 41,765 people, 16,052 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile . There were 19,426 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, Jefferson
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,200. It was established on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and named for then-President Thomas Jefferson. Its county seat is Brookville...
, Lawrence
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 91,108. The county was added to the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003. The county seat is New Castle....
, and Mercer
Mercer County, Pennsylvania
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 116,638. Its county seat is Mercer; Sharon is its largest city....
Counties.
Clear Creek State Forest is managed under the "Multiple Use Management" system. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation of Natural Resources considers many different uses for the forest land and places top priority on the most important use for any given area. Clear Creek State Forest is currently open for recreational purposes such as hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
. Several timber, oil and gas companies use the natural resources of the forest. The Pennsylvania Game Commission
Pennsylvania Game Commission
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is the state agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management in Pennsylvania in the United States...
is responsible for wildlife management in Clear Creek State Forest.
History
Clear Creek State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. Joseph RothrockJoseph Rothrock
Joseph Trimbel Rothrock was an American environmentalist, recognized as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania. In 1895, Rothrock was appointed the first forestry commissioner to lead the newly formed Division of Forestry in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture...
became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and Iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. The clear cut
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s that prevented the formation of second growth forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
s.
Conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests. The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 117 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and...
. The Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.
The first parcel of land that was to become Clear Creek State Forest was purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for $6,880. The original purchase of 3200 acres (1,295 ha) was purchased in 1919 at the end of the lumber era that swept throughout the mountains of Pennsylvania. The state continued to purchase land throughout the 20th century with the last acquisition taking place in 1980. Most of the land was acquired from large scale lumbering corporations. These lumber businesses stripped the old growth forest that once spread over most of Pennsylvania. They began lumbering on a large scale in 1883 when the first sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s were constructed in the area along the many creeks that drained the Allegheny Plateau
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
. The lumbermen harvested the hemlock and white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
trees on an almost exclusive basis. The logs of hemlock and pine were lashed together in rafts and floated down the Clarion River
Clarion River
The Clarion River is a tributary of the Allegheny River, approximately 110 mi long, in west central Pennsylvania in the United States...
and into the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The lumber companies also built three logging railroads in the area to get the lumber out of the mountains and on to the cities of Western Pennsylvania.
The lumbering operations left behind what has been described as a "barren wasteland" of stumps and dried treetops. The sparks cast off by passing steam trains set off massive forest fires. These fires slowed the development of the second growth forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
that now covers Clear Creek State Forest. The forests have largely regrown with the hemlock and white pine trees being replaced with thriving populations of various hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
trees.
Neighboring state forest districts
The U.S. stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
is to the west
- Cornplanter State ForestCornplanter State ForestCornplanter State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #14. The main office is located in North Warren in Warren County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is named for Chief Cornplanter of the Seneca Nation, one of the tribes of the Iroquois...
(north) - Elk State ForestElk State ForestElk State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #13. The main offices are located in Emporium in Cameron County , Pennsylvania in the United States....
(northeast) - Moshannon State ForestMoshannon State ForestMoshannon State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #9. The main offices are located in the unincorporated village of Penfield in Huston Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
(east) - Gallitzin State ForestGallitzin State ForestGallitzin State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #6. The main offices are located in Ebensburg in Cambria County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
(southeast) - Forbes State ForestForbes State ForestForbes State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #4. The main offices are located in Laughlintown in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Mount Davis, the highest peak in Pennsylvania, is located in the forest.The forest was named...
(south)